Copper & Kings American Craft Brandy

An elegant, Solera aged Brandy by Copper & Kings Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky; sourcing pot-distilled Brandy stock from various distillers crafted with a blend of grapes including: Muscat, Chenin Blanc & French Colombard & goes full "solera" on it: 90% ages in former Kentucky Bourbon barrels, while 10% reaches its maturity in new medium-char American oak casks for a minimum of 2 years. It has an aromatic birth with notes of caramel, honey, cherry wood, honeysuckle, hints of melon & a floral bouquet; while a rich & oily life adds notes of honey, toasted oak, tobacco & spices; that led to a balanced & velvety death. August 2020 / January 2021

Sampled neat from a Flaviar taster. Before I get to the review, I certainly don't recommend Flaviar. Nothing about my experience with them would convince me to join their program. The nose is sweet with some grapey notes and a solid apple profile. This smells like a wonderful jelly to put on toast in the morning. On the palate this is soft, sweet and undemanding. Not sure if this is worth having in a cocktail. I can imaging the lemon juice totally crushing it in a Sidecar. There's no way for me to be certain as the "sampler" would be a pretty depressing neat pour at most restaurants. Anyway, its inoffensive. At the going rate which seems to be about $35 I'm not sure I wouldn't opt for something like a VSOP cognac. That would mean a step down to 80 proof, but maybe a bit more interesting complexity on the palate? I rate it on a scale of 1 to 5. A competent mass-market product should land on a bell curve with the average clustered between 2 and 3. This is a competent, average brandy.

Can definitely tell the grape, bit of apple too. Smoother compared to bourbon

Honey on nose. Red grapes (fruity). Bit hot